National and state turnout rates for the voting-eligible population (VEP) and voting age population (VAP) for the 1980-present November general elections. Also, national turnout rates for presidential and midterm general elections, 1787-2012. Data in Excel format. Some years have primary figures as well. Compiled by Prof. Michael McDonald of the University of Florida.

Comprehensive turnout statistics for general and primary elections for presidential, congressional, and state gubernatorial races. Extensive tables provide state level figures (including partisan turnout) grouped by office or election type in 20 year chunks. Also includes chronologies of major events and election law changes affecting turnout. Data in Excel or .csv.

November supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS) provides results on reported voting and registration in presidential and congressional elections broken down by various demographic and socioeconomic characteristics down to the state level. Does not include reported partisan vote. Detailed tables in Excel or .csv, including historical time series from 1960s–. Data extracts from the VRS can also be made through IPUMS-CPS (1994–).

My political opinion guide lists major election surveys that are good sources for estimating turnout based on demographic and socioeconomic variables as well as by different geographies, depending on the size of the survey.

A major work on the electoral history of African American voters from the Colonial era to the present. Includes both essays analyzing data collections and historical context as well as numerous tables on African American voting, registration, turnout, and other measures both nationally and in various states. Tables in Excel or .csv.

Campaigns

Kifer, Parkin, and Druckman content analysis of over 1000 House and Senate candidates' Web sites over multiple election cycles. Data include information on candidate and district characteristics. At present, data from three election studies (2002, 2004, 2006) is available; 2008 and 2010 will be released in the future. Data is in .tsv, R, and Stata formats.

Nonpartisan project based at GWU documenting the presidential campaigns from 2000-2016. Especially useful for extensive information about general election and primary campaign organizations for the major candidates. Basis for a dataset coding field offices by county for 2004–2008 (Democrat) and 2012 (Democrat and Republican).

The Cook Political Report's Congressional District Election Handicapping Data from James Campbell's website (SUNY Buffalo). The reports were usually those that were the latest available before Labor Day. They range from late July to very early September. Most are from late August. Data in Excel.

Reference

Traces the evolution of political campaigns in America and analyzes other key aspects of campaigns—laws and regulations; party identification; campaign organization; political parties, interest groups, and the media; campaign strategy; polling; and more.

Platforms and Documents

FNS contains White House briefings & statements by the President, Congressional hearings, National Press Club speeches (when discussing major topics or remarks by key U.S. or foreign figures), special briefings whether on record or not for attribution in addition to remarks of top ranking officials, 1988+. CQ contains transcripts of 4 to 5 complete congressional hearings per day as well as press briefings from the State, Justice, and Defense departments, presidential news conferences and press briefings, and speeches and press conferences by national newsmakers, 1995+. If searching for speeches, try something like: (HEADLINE(gore w/8 (remarks OR speech))).

Full text of campaign platforms of major and minor political parties in the United States for each presidential election. In print at JK2255 .J64 1978 and JK2255 .J643 (Trustee Reading Room, Firestone Library).

Presents brief biographical accounts of presidential candidates and historical information about presidential elections from 1789–1992. Most useful for its coverage of minor party candidates and platforms. In print at JK528 .H38 1996 (Trustee Reading Room, Firestone Library).

Provides useful insight into the personalities and passions that have shaped each presidential election campaign from 1788 to 2008. First volume provides A–Z entries covering slogans and issues, while the second and third volumes cover the elections chronologically. In print at JK524 .R58 2012 (Trustee Reading Room, Firestone Library).

Presents and briefly analyzes primary source documents—including laws, regulations, and court rulings—that contextualize the evolution of U.S. election campaigns. Chronologically arranged for five periods from the 19th century to today. In print at JK2281 .U34 2011 (Firestone Library).

Nominations and Conventions

Presents an examination of U.S. presidential nominating conventions, including descriptions of the convention system and its evolution, the relation to primaries, in-depth information on specific conventions and political parties, and balloting totals for key convention ballots for the two major parties.

This collection includes the proceedings of the Democratic National Conventions (1832–1988) and the Republican National Conventions (1856–1988), providing "gavel to gavel coverage, including speeches, debates, votes, and party platforms. Also included are lists of names of convention delegates and alternates." Once in Archives Unbound, click "Browse Collections, then click the Categories tab and look under "Law & Legal History".

Congressional Research Service compilation of federal and state laws, party rules, court decisions, Federal Election Commission regulation revisions, and statistical materials on presidential and vice presidential nominations and elections. Printed every 4 years, excepting 1996 and 2004.

Full video coverage of the Democratic and Republican parties' national conventions, 2000–present. Includes some coverage from 1984 and 1996 as well as some third party conventions (e.g., Reform Party in 2000, Libertarian in 2016).

Survey of the Performance of American Elections (SPAE) 2007–2012. Asked in the immediate aftermath of the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, SPAE surveys 10,000 people (200 from each state) about their experience with and attitudes toward their voting experience. For example, it provides data for comparing the time waiting in line to vote between states.

Project of the Pew Center on the States to track how efficient and effective states are in administering elections. Ranks and measures the states on 17 indicators (e.g., voter registration rate, turnout %, voting wait time, provisional ballots rejected, etc.). Data available in .csv and as an interactive report; 2008-2012

EAVS is the only nationwide census of basic data concerning election administration and policy. Covers voter registration, uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting, domestic civilian absentee ballots, provisional ballots, and Election Day activities. Reports at county and municipality level (where municipalities administer the elections). Data in Excel and SPSS formats. Also includes responses from the Statutory Overview, which allows for comparison across states of election administration legal requirements and practices. 2004–present (most complete data from 2008 on).

Election Administration by the Numbers: An Analysis of Available Datasets and How to Use Them, 2012. This report from the Pew Center on the States discusses strengths and weaknesses of several major datasets for studying election administration.

"This book focuses on how the tools of public management and policy evaluation can be used to give election officials the data they need to improve elections." In print at JK1976 .A68 2013 (Firestone Library).

In the presidential election of November 2000, approximately 180,000 ballots in Florida's 67 counties were uncertified because they failed to register a "valid" vote for president. These ballots included those in which no vote was recorded (undervotes) and those in which people voted for more than one candidate (overvotes). The 2000 Florida Ballots Project examined the undervotes and overvotes. The goal of the project was not to declare a "winner," but rather to carefully examine the ballots to assess the relative reliability of the three major types of ballot systems used in Florida.

Encyclopedias, Guides, and Handbooks

Major reference from CQ Press discussing the evolution of elections in America, the development of political parties and the party system, and presidential, congressional, and gubernatorial elections. Includes many tables and indexes covering election returns, timelines, candidates, and more.

Also in print at JK1967 .C662 2010 (Trustee Reading Room, Firestone Library); older editions at same call number in the stacks

Articles from top scholars reviewing research on various approaches and issues in research design, political participation, vote choice, presidential and non-presidential elections, and the influence of issues, interests, and elites on individual political behavior. Each article includes a useful bibliography.

Also in print at JK1976 .O97 2010 (Firestone Library and Stokes Library)

Examines patterns in presidential election politics over time as well as some patterns in recent congressional election politics. Site offers numerous animated and interactive visualizations of voting in the U.S. Project out of the University of Richmond.

Provides interactive maps and visualizations of Congressional and state legislative elections in the early Republic. Makes available the electoral returns (from the New Nation Votes project) and spatial data underlying the maps. As of early 2018, content is still being built out.

This site provides digital boundary definitions for every U.S. Congressional District in use between 1789 and 2012. Produced by Jeffrey Lewis at UCLA. Boundaries are available as shapefiles or GeoJSON definitions. Includes extensive documentation of how boundaries for districts were constructed.

This tool from the Missouri Census Data Center lets you generate geographic correspondence files showing how geographic areas overlap (e.g. how ZIP codes relate with counties or counties to Congressional districts.) This post-2010-census version ("geocorr14") has the current geography. MCDC also maintains earlier versions of the application for 2000 and 1990 Census geography.

Interactive map displaying vote totals for McCain and Obama by voting precinct with additional overlays of race and income data from the Census. Appears to only work in Internet Explorer. Vote totals by precinct without the Census overlays can also be viewed as an ArcGIS map.

Explores voter turnout in the most recent municipal elections in America's 30 largest cities. Series of charts and map visualizations; map layers can be downloaded in JSON to create custom GIS maps.

Prediction Markets

Prediction markets are marketplaces for the exchange of predictions on uncertain future events. While stock exchanges find the price of stocks and futures markets find the price of commodities, prediction markets find the probability of some real world event happening. Traders buy or sell shares based on their predictions of the event happening.